And so it begins. It really all began back in 1977, as a 10-year old, when my friend Dustin told me of this movie he just saw. The way he described it to me was this: "There's this moon thing, and these two guys have a sword fight on it". Needless to say I wasn't all that impressed by his description, although I tried to picture it in my head (pirates...in space??). Soon after that my dad said the two of us would go see a movie together since it was playing next door to where he worked. Two and a half hours later and my life would never be the same. And with all the villains and heroes, it was that little R2 unit that grabbed a firm hold on my imagination. Playful, adventurous, scared, brave, a real smart alec - how could this metal trashcan with lights and wheels be all of these things?!? That was the summer of my first R2 build. I got an empty ice cream tub from the local 31 Flavors shop, and used one of mom's Tupperware containers for the head. I colored and taped on the various component drawings as best I could, for a 10 year old. I placed a flashlight in the head to shine through and illuminate his "mouth". And even though it was crude, and very static, it was the best damn toy ever! Later on I would try to put a small remote controlled car in the middle foot so it could move, but it never quite worked well (but good enough of course!).
Fast forward to 2010. Fan based R2 building had already been around for many years prior, but I was only becoming aware of just how technologically advanced they were. They looked like the real thing. Over almost three years I would read and try to understand all that it took to build one of these beauties. My hopes and dreams were dashed many times as I would research, and without seeing one closeup it was hard to tell what was REALLY going on. That all changed when I got to opportunity to meet some of the Pacific Northwest R2 Builders at the 2013 Emerald City Comic Con in Seattle. Mind blown. 6 fantastic looking, fully functional in different ways, R2 units on display, in action, over three days. On Sunday they put on an hour long panel describing their R2 units, with a quick overview of each persons build. Wood frame, aluminum frame, styrene and aluminum parts, all coming together just right. Cost? Plan on $11,000 and a few years to gather parts, to scratch build, and lots of patience.
That inner 10-year old was beaming with excitement. I was hooked, and knew it was time to start my own R2 build.
That brings me to today. I've cleaned out the garage and built a rather large workbench/table with shelving (gotta have a place to store R2 parts like legs!). I've purchased two items, the first of which I've received - the Dome Topper. Two weeks ago I ordered JAG hinges, used in the body and dome to facilitate opening and closing of panel doors. I'm planning on buying an aluminum frame from Commando-8 later this summer, and hopefully a 300mm Dome. Perhaps the body skins too. I'm on the fence about the legs - wood or aluminum? I also purchased an Arduino programming kit, so I can start learning how to use it.
So within this blog I hope to post pics of each step of my build. Not only as a personal record of how things transpire, but also to show other people who might be interested in doing this on their own that this IS possible. You too can own your own R2 unit.
And while I really look forward to a completed unit, I am very interested in doing public appearances with it. From Children's Hospital, to Comic Con, to other events, I hope to share some of the magic that R2-D2 has brought into my life.
And so it begins....
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